Cameron’s Crush on Labour

He called Ed Milliband a “complete mug”, Ed Balls a “muttering idiot” and he told Labour MP Angela Eagle to “Calm down, dear”. Why is David Cameron so derogatory to those sitting opposite him? Based on his actions he should be sat with them.

With the sun setting on the 2012 Games, Cameron was quick to announce that funding for Olympic sports has been secured for four years instead of the usual two. As he muscled in on the credits the Prime Minister failed to mention that London 2012 was born during a Labour government. Instead he and Boris Johnson were busily prancing around the Olympic Park like mascots. London 2012 is a Labour project being branded Conservative.

It was a shame for the Conservatives that the opening ceremony was closer to a Bolshevik rally than a capitalist drinks party but Cameron didn’t appear worried. Why would he be if he looks left for ideas?

The Big Society, brainchild of the current government, aims to “… encourage people to come together to form neighbourhood groups and support social enterprises and charities in these poorest areas.” David is a man who condemns Labour while preaching socialism.

His confusion is compounded by a belief that he was the ‘heir to Blair’. The Daily Mail recently reported that Cameron has had eight private conversations with Tony Blair since he took the helm in 2010. An odd alliance considering Cameron leads a party that was cast into shadow for 10 years by the former Labour leader.

Despite Cameron’s relationship with Blair, he remains happy to fire jibes at his Labour counterparts. Those barbed comments, however, reveal insecurities rather than confidence. When the coalition wobbled on the fuel duty rise Cameron claimed Milliband should support the u-turn as it was for the “… people who work hard and do the right thing.” In other words, David appealed for Ed’s backing because he was implementing a left-winged policy for Milliband’s core voters. Ed must think David’s “playing hard to get”; First he calls him a mug and then he seeks his approval.

Fuel duty was not the first time the Coalition had reversed on policy. After planning to introduce VAT on pies the government relented to opposition pressure during the pastygate debacle. It was claimed that the Chancellor, George Osborne, was out of sync with the ordinary British workers. In a desperate attempt to appear as a man of the people Cameron was caught telling a porky about eating a pasty. With the courage of a dog lying on its back, the government argued that backtracking on the policy showed they were listening. They did not mention whom they were listening to: the people or the Labour party?

The government’s habit of conceding to Labour is in danger of escalating out of control. Pressure from the IMF and other economic bodies is threatening to force the Tories to reverse Osborne’s austerity measures, submitting to the shadow chancellor and his spend-more strategy.

The risk is compounded by news that last month Labour’s support grew to 42% in contrast to the Conservatives’ 33% according to a poll in the Independent. Labour’s 9% lead is a significant turnaround from 2010 when the Tories had a 7% advantage. You would be forgiven for thinking that Cameron had joined the swing.